Joanna Shieh

Jojo is very passionate about martial arts, specifically Thai Kickboxing and Karate. She has been teaching karate for 6 years now in Beijing, China, where she has lived with her family for 7 years. She was also proudly co-captain of her rugby team during her senior year. Travelling has become a large part of Jojo's life after moving to China, and her love of travel is what initially attracted her to the Global Citizen Year program. She hopes to actively help her community in Brazil, as well as get the most out of this incredible experience.

This video was made in order to capture the beautiful work done at R3 Animal where I spent my 7 months in Brazil volunteering. R3 Animal is an NGO who’s mission is to Rescue, Rehabilitate, and Reintigrate wild animals into their habitat. This organisation has done…

R3 Animal is an NGO that works to Rescue, Rehabilitate, and Reintegrate animals into their habitat. We work with animals such as penguins, parrots, macaws, monkeys, owls, and many more. http://en.r3animal.org.br Visit this website to learn more, as I don’t want to use this blog…

I named him Boo, which is short for Bugio, the word for Howler Monkey in Portuguese. He is only a few months old and his head is around the size of a small plum. His long fingers gently pulled at my skin as he slowly…

I want you to imagine your most exciting New Years Eve or Chinese New Year. What about a birthday party, or a 4th of July? Try now to think about that crazy Halloween party you attended last year, the year before, 20 years ago. Now,…

I know I haven’t posted a blog in awhile, and to be honest I have no excuse. I’ve been too busy enjoying and creating my experiences rather than taking the time actually to write about them. A gap year is really not complete without…

Ah the boat! A total of 90 minutes of my day are spent on the boat to get to and from my Portuguese classes in Lagoa de Conçeicão. It is during these 90 minutes where I learn the most about the country I will be living in for the next…

As I anxiously await my bridge year to Santa Catarina, Brazil, my friend Idalina sends me a CNN article titled, “10 things to know before visiting Brazil”, by Joe Robison. I read the article, over and over again, laughing and becoming even more intrigued by Brazil’s interesting, and crazy culture….